Shloka 146
Pitṛ-śrāddha-haviḥ-phala-nirdeśa
Offerings for Ancestors and Their Stated Results
एवमेतत् पुरा वृत्तं तस्य यज्ञे महात्मन: । देवश्रेष्टस्य लोकादौ वारुणीं बिशभ्रतस्तनुम्
evam etat purā vṛttaṃ tasya yajñe mahātmanaḥ | devaśreṣṭasya lokādau vāruṇīṃ bibhratas tanum ||
婆悉吒说道：“确乎如此——在远古之时，于那位大魂者、诸天之最胜者的祭祀中，曾发生过此事。就在世界初始之际，他曾承持瓦鲁妮（Vāruṇī）之形。”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ancient precedent: divine beings may assume specific forms in connection with cosmic beginnings and sacrificial contexts, underscoring the Mahābhārata’s view that ritual and cosmology are ethically meaningful arenas where dharma is revealed through exemplary narratives.
Vasiṣṭha recounts an old event: during the sacrifice of a great-souled figure, the foremost of the gods—linked to the world’s beginning—assumed or bore the form called Vāruṇī, indicating a divine manifestation connected with Varuṇa and ritual proceedings.